General orders Davao City police officers to explain ‘blue book discrepancies’
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 07 July) – Brig. Gen Nicolas Torre III, chief of the Police Regional Office – Davao region (PRO-Davao), has ordered officers detailed at the 19 police stations under the Davao City Police Office (DCPO) to explain the supposed discrepancies in their “blue books,” which allegedly contain false blotters to create an impression of low crime statistics in the city.
In an interview at the sidelines of “Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas” at Camp Sgt. Quintin M. Merecido on Tuesday, Torre said he directed the involved policemen to respond within 72 hours.
He did not say how many policemen were ordered to explain the alleged sanitized records but assured that the officers would be given “due process.”
Torre said that the PRO-Davao is still at the level of “pre-charge investigation to give the involved officers the opportunity to explain their sides.”
“Kung satisfied ako na hindi lang talaga nila alam ang gagawin, tuturuan ko sila (If I’m satisfied that they just don’t know what to do, I’ll teach them),” he said.
But Torre said that he would initiate an in-depth investigation to determine the gravity of their culpability before he would subject the police officers to any administrative charges.
“Nakita ko sa blotter validation, maraming discrepancy, maraming mali, hindi na record. May mga feeling kami baka naman sadyang tinago. Pero hindi ko pwedeng iakusa sayo na hindi ka bibigyan ng pagkakataon (I saw during the blotter validation that there were many discrepancies and incorrect entries, or were not recorded. We also feel that, perhaps, it was deliberately concealed. But I will not accuse you without undergoing due process),” he said.
Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte, in a pre-recorded episode of “Basta Dabawenyo” posted on his Facebook page last Sunday, said that there are more than 100 police officers in the city who will face “administrative charges.”
Torre did not comment on Duterte’s pronouncement.
Last July 31, Torre revealed that one of the reasons he ordered the relief of 19 police station commanders in the city was because of alleged false reporting of crime statistics in the city.
He said he does not intend to destroy the careers of these station commanders, but added that he wants to use this as a “teaching and learning” experience.
“Underclass ko ang mga yan, wala naman sa isip ko na gibain ko ang mga yan. They are all our colleagues sa PNP. Part ng trabaho bilang leader ay magturo para sa mga batang ito (They are all my underclass, and I do not want to destroy them. They are all our colleagues at the PNP. It is part of my duty as a leader to teach these young people),” he said.
Torre revealed that a “blotter validation” is also ongoing in other police stations in the Davao region.
Responding to the tirades of Duterte calling him a “professional liar,” Torre said the local chief executive is free to call him names.
“Opinion nya yun. This is the beauty of democracy, anybody can say anything may mga limit lang, limits of decency and legality of those things. Sa atin, sanay na tayo dyan (That’s his opinion. This is the beauty of democracy because anybody can say anything, for as long as it is within the limits of decency and legality. I’m used to it). He wants to say it, go ahead,” the police official said.
He challenged Duterte to file a perjury case against him.
“On my part, if I lie in my official capacity, or kahit na sa (even in my) private capacity, lying, especially to a public official, may result in administrative sanctions. In criminal law books, it can be the basis for perjury, so if you call me a liar and you have a basis for it, sabi ko nga eh abogado tatay nya eh filan nya ako ng kaso (As I said, his father is a lawyer, then he should file a case against me),” he said.
Torre was referring to former President Rodrigo Duterte, who worked as prosecutor before joining politics in the 1980s. (Antonio Colina IV / MindaNews)
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